Category: Reading

There are good moments and less good ones, no way to go but forward. I'm making peace with things, though that doesn't mean I look back with no regrets. I do. I learned much about myself in the course of my Highland Fling, not all pretty. Then, I'm learning a lot about my resiliance, too. …

“A philosophical question: if a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? And if a woman who's wholly alone occasionally talks to a pot plant, is she certifiable? I think that it is perfectly normal to talk to oneself occasionally. It's not as though …

After all the build up, an exciting evening was had at the Walter Scott Prize event. Having read all the shortlist candidates save one, determining Sebastian Barry's Days Without End the rightful winner, he did, indeed, come away with the award. http:// It was an unseasonably warm day last Saturday. Temperatures were in the 20s …

Hardcover: 304 pages Publisher: St. Martin's Press (January 17, 2017) Language: English ISBN-10: 1250113326 ISBN-13: 978-1250113320 It's New Year's Eve 1984. Once the most celebrated poet and highest paid female advertising writer in America, Lillian Boxfish is now 84 years old, her fame forgotten. Most of her friends now dead, she's left only with …

Paperback: 288 pages Publisher: The Overlook Press; Reprint edition (November 22, 2016) Language: English ISBN-10: 1468313622 ISBN-13: 978-1468313628 My first read of 2017 did not go as planned. I should have fallen in love with this retelling of The Great Gatsby, set in 21st century London and featuring Russian characters in place of Fitzgerald's …

For all that 2016 was a shite year in general, reading-wise it was actually pretty great. Though I didn't finish as many books as I'd have liked, only 50ish, the majority were above par. Loads of top-notch writers published new books, literary award offerings were impressive, and I scored more review copies than …

First, let me qualify: I am not a fan of historical novels based on real, high-profile figures. I haven't had good luck with them. I chose to review this book based mostly on my great interest in the Victorian period, its literature and history. My curiosity got the better of me, my hopes raised …

When I'm not reading books, I'm reading books about books. Ditto books about or featuring librarians, the history of books and reading, book making (not as in gambling, only because I don't have the money because I spend it on books), book art, book cover art, paper making, and anything even remotely connected to …

It seems this novelization has lots more hard information than I'd given it credit for. At the very least, it's giving me lots of bits about the Brontës I'd forgotten about. For instance: Branwell's temper tantrums - I give Patrick much credit for dealing with his son's often explosive behavior. When things didn't go his …